What is "pikachurin"

n. (context biochemistry English) A dystroglycan-interacting polysaccharide which has an essential role in the precise interactions between the photoreceptor ribbon synapse and the bipolar dendrites.

Pikachurin, also known as ''' AGRINL ''' (AGRINL) and EGF-like, fibronectin type-III and laminin G-like domain-containing protein (EGFLAM), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the EGFLAM gene.

Pikachurin is a dystroglycan-interacting protein which has an essential role in the precise interactions between the photoreceptor ribbon synapse and the bipolar dendrites. The binding with dystroglycan (DG) depends on several factors ( glycosylation of DG, presence of divalent cations, presence of other proteins).

A non-correct binding between pikachurin and DG is associated with muscular dystrophies that often involve eye abnormalities.